## Chapter 168 – Nemea (3)
Vivian returned to the hideout with news so good it felt unreal.
Though I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, the fact that she had used Nemea to take down a dozen or so men filled my mind with a celebratory atmosphere.
Of course, one could argue that it was only natural, given that Vivian was a well-educated student from the Academy…
But still, I had a stake in it, didn’t I?
It almost felt like the pride of a father watching his daughter excel on her own.
Anyway, what mattered was that my designed product was functioning as intended.
‘An evolution method that defies Enic’s biology is also valid…!! Then, if I find a way to apply this in a different way… surely…!!’
Nemea was a product of research into the current world, combined with a series of coincidences.
‘Just as Groden’s knights wear armor, could we have our colony’s women wear biological armor?’
Construction sites have safety shoes and gear, soldiers have helmets and vests, and knights have armor.
Especially in this world where battles are likely to occur, armor could be seen as the foundation of protection in a way.
– Bio-armor configuration. Inefficient. Needs improvement.
Excessive nerve branching. Armor density is a mess.
Lack of in-house technology. Lack of experience. Will deploy necessary personnel.
‘Are you guys roasting me right now…?
These guys might not actually be Parasites……’
Initially, there was a plan to create thick armor using the diamond-hard teeth of Kernel Worms…
But my clumsy and crude work kept failing, and the Parasites, frustrated with my ineptitude, began to intervene on their own, leading to unintended but continuous development.
The Parasites meticulously combined the flesh, nervous systems, and materials of various colony members that had appeared so far.
What they ultimately created was the prototype of ‘Nemea.’
‘It looks like a slug, this thing……’
Strictly speaking, it looked similar to a slime or Water Jelly from this world, but let’s just stick with slug for now.
‘This thing is… protection……?’
Nemea, generally black in color, was a parasite that lived on the host’s body.
It would hide on the host’s body like a parasite, and if it detected a sudden change in the host’s bio-signals and sensed a physical crisis, it would then emerge from its parasitic location and begin to protect its host.
These creatures, which breathe by burrowing shallowly into the flesh and exposing part of their body, could cause pain to the host during the parasitic process.
However, thanks to the Parasites’ ability to melt and reconstruct flesh, they could eliminate pain from the very beginning of the flesh-burrowing process.
‘If it hurts, it’s all for nothing.
I’m glad we have the Parasites after all.’
Also, because the parasitic area of these creatures, which otherwise looked bland with a black lump embedded in the chest, was so plain, covering the pre-dug flesh with various shapes would add beautiful and soft-textured patterns, like a black tattoo.
‘Even though the empty space looks a bit gruesome when Nemea comes out…
That won’t happen if you always have it attached…
Even if you remove it completely, the Parasites can just refill the flesh…’
So, what appears to be a slightly wobbly, beautiful tattoo becomes sturdy armor in times of crisis.
After creating the Nemea prototype and adding the function of acting as clothing, I happily gifted it to Vivian.
‘Thank you… I’ll cherish it…!!’
‘I didn’t give it to you to cherish……?’
In fact, you could summon clothes at any time even if you were naked, and it even added the role of armor in case of emergency.
That’s why I thought it might be necessary for Vivian, who was always busy and didn’t hesitate to do dangerous things.
Would I seem like too much of a scumbag if I said that the bland appearance and painful parasitism were also Vivian’s ideas?
‘Well, there’s always a trial and error process at first!!
I’m Enic!! Enic!! I can’t always be perfect…!!’
But thanks to Vivian, who gave feedback without any complaints, Nemea could be improved, so I felt grateful and thought that I should give her the best Nemea someday.
Anyway, how many days had passed since I gave her the Nemea prototype?
Whether it was good luck or bad that the need arose, an incident to test Nemea’s performance occurred in the form of a brothel raid as part of a cartel conflict.
Giving Vivian the prototype before implanting Nemea in Lanie was, in the end, proving to be a good choice.
‘Now that I’ve confirmed that the performance is reliable……’
Moreover, the Nemea that Vivian had was a completely early prototype.
Although it couldn’t compare to ‘Waning Moon,’ unlike Lanie’s Nemea, which was developed to the level of ‘Half Moon,’ it was only developed to about halfway between ‘New Moon’ and ‘Waxing Moon,’ frankly speaking, it was just a toy.
And yet, it could produce such results with that, isn’t that amazing?
If I used the completed version after development, what level of performance could it achieve?
“But……”
At Vivian’s words, her face slightly flushed, I couldn’t help but lower my head, not knowing what to say.
Nemea is called armor, but its essence is a parasite.
Like the ‘Spider’ creatures that need to be recharged periodically, Nemea also needs to replenish its nutrients somewhere.
It seemed that by adopting the digestive system and charging method of the ‘Spider,’ it ended up obtaining nutrients by drinking bodily fluids.
Even the Kernel Worms dig into the soil to replenish nutrients, and the Parasites seemed to obtain nutrients directly in some way while experimenting with females.
So, I thought it might be possible to change the way they obtain nutrients like those guys, or to make it highly efficient.
‘Storing nutrients steadily before using it…
I’ll just come up with the ideas, and the Parasites will take care of the rest……?’
A beautiful world where liberal arts students think and engineering students realize.
‘Am I going to realize that…!!’
In that way, the evil pheromones of the malicious owner Enic, who was feeling absurd joy and urging his subordinates, were spreading throughout the hideout.
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A dark room reminiscent of an interrogation room.
About ten men with fierce expressions, gangsters, thugs, and mobsters, were sitting huddled around a long banquet table, silently waiting for someone.
And soon, a young man appeared, opening the door and sitting at the head of the table, crossing his legs.
At first glance, he had a common face, but if you looked closely, he had a handsome appearance.
This must be what they mean by “beautiful when you look closely, lovely when you look for a long time.”
“You’ve arrived!! Boss!!”
“Yeah. There must be… some trouble.”
Anyway, he seemed displeased that he had to be here, even though he should have been comfortably sweeping the front of the brothel with a broom.
Scanning the men at the table with a slightly hardened expression, the Pimp began to speak with his first question.
“What’s the damage? Is it severe?”
“The gambling den was fortunately pushed back to the middle ground…
But our bar, which is one of our main businesses, got completely trashed.
And even the wine bottles I kept there…
Damn it… Terra bastards……!!
Someday I’ll cut off their heads and use them as goblets…!!”
“I’ll peel off their skin and slice them layer by layer until they die of dehydration!!”
“Yeah!! How dare they touch us!!”
Terra was one of the twenty or so cartels in the back alleys.
Although they weren’t large-scale cartels like the Deckard Cartel or the Laratina Cartel, they were even more desperate to increase their power.
Taking advantage of the conflict in the back alleys, they invaded their cartel, and his subordinates, enraged by the incident, were calling for bloody revenge.
But his eyes, as if looking somewhere else, were fixed on the dimly lit candles on the wall.
And soon, raising his hand to quiet the crowd, he began to ask questions to the subordinates who were about to report in a calm voice.
“What about the brothel? I guess it’s the same as what I heard?”
“Yes? Yes…!! That’s right!!
Except for the fact that the bastards kicked down the door, the brothel…
The damage to the brothel is limited to the lobby area, so it’s almost non-existent…
That blue bitch…… *gulp* The new… manager…”
Having inadvertently mentioned Vivian’s nickname and then changing his words, fearing that it might bring bad luck, the Pimp nodded, resting his chin on his hand.
“I see… Hmm…
The bar will be quickly restored with the sales we’ve collected so far.
Of course, it’s a shame we collected it, but it can’t be helped.
Since we’re rebuilding it anyway, let’s make it fancy.
It’ll take about a week to get back on track if we run fast.”
Of course, a week would only be possible if they ran without a moment to spare, but no one doubted his words.
In fact, his words mostly came true.
All that was left was for them to faithfully follow his orders.
“Yes!! Boss!!”
“Kendall, report as soon as the bar is taken care of.
Smith, if there’s any noisy business, handle it quietly as usual.
Since something happened, the public safety police department will come poking around.
Stay alert for the time being.
You never know what might happen.”
“Understood!! Boss!!”
“Alright, dismiss!!
Let’s go to work!!”
As the Pimp raised his hand and clapped, the subordinates began to disperse.
“We can’t let them drag us in like this.
It’s okay, it’s okay. Let’s run again!”
And after a while, as the last remaining subordinate bowed his head, closed the door, and went outside, he let out a small sigh as he became alone.
No, to be precise, he wasn’t alone.
The moment he first sat at the head of the table, below the candle he had been looking at.
The gently swaying air became blurred as if a veil was being lifted, and from there, someone was appearing as if they had been there from the beginning.
Appearing as if by ‘magic,’ the man’s voice, quietly opening his mouth as if it shouldn’t be heard by others, was once again breaking the silence in the room.
“Boss.”
“Report.”
“Terra is currently in a state of annihilation.
As a result of the search, all of their hideouts, safe houses, etc., have been raided.
The survivors are scattered, but it will be difficult to regroup.”
Unlike the determination of the men who had been burning with fiery hostility towards Terra until just now, what came out of the mouth of the man standing in front of the Pimp was the news that Terra had already been annihilated.
But the Pimp, not even showing a hint of surprise, was naturally stating his expectations.
“Then Luna must have thoroughly crushed Terra from the beginning.
So… two cartels have been wiped out like this?”
“It is presumed that Sir Parlocchino’s cartel crushed Terra.
On the surface, it is to eliminate those who violate the rules and…
To maintain the balance of the back alleys…
But there must have been someone’s influence.”
“I see… I’m grateful to whoever it is.”
Watching the Pimp smiling and closing his eyes, letting out a light sigh, the man raised his eyebrows and smiled.
“You have a bad taste, Boss.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?
Anyway… the power structure has been slightly shaken like this.
The other guys will start looking for a chance to move.
I have a feeling something interesting will happen…”
And at the Pimp’s words that followed, the man looked at him with surprised eyes, as if wondering how he knew.
“Recently, Laratina has been moving, right?
They say they’re buying a lot of slaves…
I wonder if she’s planning to become a slave trader, leaving ‘Deckard’ behind…”
“Laratina is just a whore.
The power itself is mostly women centered around the brothel.
I think it’s just the result of her using my hole well.”
But at his rebuttal, having quickly regained his composure, the Pimp smiled and patted his shoulder.
“That’s what’s scary. Laratina isn’t really highly regarded, is she?
The former owner of the second-ranked cartel, that great human being, right?
He just fell for that one pussy.
That’s why men should always be careful of their lower bodies…
I think it’s a really great saying, even for me, who runs a brothel.
More than that… Laratina didn’t just inherit the cartel that way, did she?
Isn’t it amazing that there aren’t any complaints among the lower ranks even after that?”
Groden Kingdom, which is wide if it’s wide, but narrow if it’s narrow.
In it, the existence itself is treason against the royal family, which looks down on the king with power, and the back alleys where it’s not strange for someone to die at any moment.
There must be a good reason for the existence of the twenty or so cartels in it.
“I see… That was a good lesson.”
The man, nodding slightly at the Pimp’s words, asked him again.
“But are you okay with this?
As I said before… it’s about time…”
“No, I’ve found an interesting guy.
I thought it would be nice to see him grow up?”
“The Blue Slaughterer… if you’re talking about that bitch…”
“Don’t worry too much.
I have my own thoughts.
The rumors are strange, but she’s surprisingly diligent, right?
She might have been quite successful if she was born as a merchant…?”
“Then why don’t you make her a merchant…”
The man, knowing that the Pimp was usually bright but surprisingly stingy with praise, asked him with a questioning look.
According to rumors, the woman’s personal strength was also not that of an ordinary human.
A woman, and a girl who didn’t seem that old.
Even if she had received higher education, she had effortlessly slaughtered a dozen or so men, who would have been difficult to deal with at once.
That was at a level where she could be the leader of a mid-sized cartel’s action team if you considered the possibility that she was hiding her strength.
If he evaluated her to that extent, why did he put the Blue Slaughterer at the counter with the name of a manager of a small brothel?
The Pimp, stretching as if his body was stiff, gave an answer that was enough to satisfy his curiosity.
“Kkuaaa… That’s why I’m looking forward to it even more.
At best, she’ll only be successful as a merchant…
She’s destined to be a great success in this field…
A woman with such lively eyes…
It’s hard to see her easily anywhere”
“I understand. Then.”
The man, sensing that it was time to move again as his personal questions were answered so easily, bowed deeply to the Pimp and began to cast a spell, conjuring a formula.
“Just in case.”
The moment a bright light enveloped the man and his body gradually turned into light and disappeared,
The man, who did not stop casting the spell even at the Pimp’s sudden voice, fixed his gaze forward and pricked up his ears at his voice.
And the man, having listened to the ‘order’ that had come to him, completely turned into light and disappeared from the room.
“I made a promise with that woman, you know?
Don’t touch her or anything, even if you get a personal interest in her.
I’m serious, so keep that in mind.”
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